1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to time-interleaved converter systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Time-interleaving a system of analog-to-digital converters offers system sample rates greater than those realized by any one of the individual converters. If the converters can sample and convert signals at a converter rate fc, for example, then N time-interleaved converters can realize a system rate fs=Nfc.
Unfortunately, time-interleaved systems are sensitive to errors in the converter's clock phases. Because the system is unaware of the errors and assumes they were correct, the converters' samples are temporally displaced which introduces signal-dependent spurious tones that significantly degrade the system's performance. These phase errors (sometimes referred to as timing skews) are generally unknown and may drift with passage of time. Accordingly, high-resolution, time-interleaved systems often employ detection (or estimation) and correction techniques for phase-error reduction.
These techniques include a) the insertion of a calibration signal into the system's analog input signal, b) the assumption of input signal characteristics, and c) the use of signal processing techniques to estimate the phase error without advance knowledge of the input signal. Typically, the first approach significantly reduces the allowable signal range at the system's input. The second approach requires advance knowledge of the input signal's characteristics and is accordingly limited in its applications. The third approach generally requires the use of digital multipliers that run at the rate of the system's converters. In systems with high resolutions (e.g., 10 bits or more) and high sampling rates (e.g., above 200 megasamples per second (MSPS)), this requires significant semiconductor die area and excessive power dissipation.